Qemal bej Karaosmani (17 July 1875 – 5 August 1949) was one of the signatories of the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence ( Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six days later the Ass ...

,"History of Albanian People" Albanian Academy of Science. and an activist of Albanian education. He served as General Secretary and briefly as Minister of Agriculture in the

Provisional Government of Albania The Provisional Government of Albania ( sq, Qeveria e Përkohshme e Shqipërisë) was the first government of Albania, created by the Assembly of Vlorë on 4 December 1912. It was a paternal government, led by Ismail Qemali, until his resignatio ...

Life

Karaosmani was born in Elbasan, back then part of Manastir Vilayet of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, today's central

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. He got his first studies in the Turkish school of his home town. Later he finished the high school and the graduate studies in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

where he got a degree for Political Sciences and Civic Administration. During his studies in Istanbul, he got in contact with some Albanian patriots and activists, especially Murat Toptani, who would become a close friend. After the graduation, he was appointed to work in the Prefecture in

Yannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the ci ...

where he did not stay long. He got transferred in

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located in ...

where he was in charge of the Cadastral Office. There he was in close contact and cooperation with other activists of the Albanian education as Babë Dudë Karbunara,

Aziz Vrioni Aziz Pasha Vrioni (1859–1920) was an Ottoman- Albanian politician of the early 20th century. He was a member of the Ottoman Parliament representing Berat, and Albanian Minister of Finance and Minister of Agriculture and of Mines. He was born i ...

, and

Iliaz Vrioni Ilias Bey, bej Vrioni (1 January 1882 – 12 March 1932) was an Albanians, Albanian politician and landowner. He was one of the signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence and served as Prime Minister of Albania three times. Biograp ...

. Based on his contribution to the Albanian education, he was invited in 1908 as a delegate in the Congress of Monastir. Karaosmani was relative to Aqif Pasha Elbasani. Both cousins would contribute to the Congress of Elbasan of 1909 where the Albanian Normal School (Alb:''Shkolla Normale e Elbasanit'') was established. In November 1912, Karaosmani was elected by the Berat leadership as a delegate in the

Assembly of Vlora Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

. He signed the act of the Independence Declaration as "Qemal Elbasani". He would be appointed later by

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian perso ...

as first secretary, and by late November 1913 Minister of Agriculture of Albania. Karaosmani supported the

Congress of Lushnje A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

of 1920, and the government of

Sulejman Delvina Sulejman bey Delvina, also known as ''Sylejman Fehmi'' (5 October 1871 – 1 August 1932), was an Albanian politician and prime minister from March to November 1920. Biography Early life Sulejman Delvina was born on 5 October 1871 in ...

which came out of it. He was elected in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

twice: first representing Berat out of elections of December 27, 1923, and those of May 17, 1925 which marked the First Albanian Republic (1925-1928). After the

Italian invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

, Karaosmani moved to Kavaje with his family where he lived for the rest of his life. He died in 1948, never appreciated by the

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, and without any official ceremony. His family donated in 1962 the original pen with which he had signed the act of Independence Declaration to the Albanian National Archives. Due to their wealth, the family were considered ''bejlere'' (

bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

s) and were persecuted. His home in the "Spaikorre" neighborhood of

Elbasan Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...

got confiscated.

Family

Qemal Karaosmani got married in 1900 to Aishe Resuli, a woman from one of the richest and most powerful families of Berat. The couple has six children: Masar, Hadije, Qamuran, Sheriar, Behije, and Ali.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karaosmani, Qemal Bej Signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence 19th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians Albanians from the Ottoman Empire 1875 births 1948 deaths People from Elbasan People from Manastir vilayet Government ministers of Albania Agriculture ministers of Albania All-Albanian Congress delegates